Sanctity of contracts barrier to African energy investment

Sanctity of contracts is one of the main barriers for investment in energy projects in Africa.

That’s according to Kola Karim, CEO at Shoreline Energy International who told ELN: “I think one of the biggest barriers about Africa is all around governance and more importantly around the contracts and sanctity of contracts. Be that as it may, that is getting better because people are becoming a lot more informed as a lot of countries in Africa are becoming more democratic and the rule of law is now the rule of the day.”

He believes the lack of knowledge about Africa and its opportunities in its power sector make it difficult to find businesses that want to invest in the continent’s energy schemes.

Mr Karim added: “The problem is people need to know Africa, understand Africa and understand how businesses are done in Africa. It’s taking time for a lot of companies to understand how businesses are done but it’s taking its routes now because people are getting to see opportunities and knowing, understanding that these opportunities bring itself with a lot of profits.”

Africa’s energy sector “has an opportunity” compared to the rest of the world, according to Mr Karim who believes the continent has all the sources and technologies to make its power mix work.

He believes Africa can develop gas power as well as renewable projects: “Africa is blessed with a lot of water so the hydro source of energy is also quick and good, efficient and clean for the continent. Africa has an opportunity compared to the rest of the world. We are starting from a clean sheet so we can live forward by showing off and showing what technology can do in making Africa better, efficient, energy generating continent.”

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